Galaxy S8 price in South Korea hits extreme low due to illegal subsidies

Phone

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Retailers and carriers often offer subsidies on some of the most popular devices on the market to bring in new customers. It's not uncommon for them to offer discounts of up to a couple of hundred dollars. However, in South Korea's cutthroat smartphone market, retailers push this to the limit.

The Galaxy S8 has a recommended retail price of 935,000 won ($825) in South Korea but it can be purchased for as low as 753,000 won ($665) after taking advantage of all legal subsidies and discounts.

However, many online and offline retailers have been offering illegal subsidies to customers in South Korea for more than a week. Subsidies worth more than 600,000 won are being provided and customers are able to pick up a Galaxy S8 for less than $180.

The Korea Communications Commission keeps an eye on the daily rate of new smartphone subscriptions in the country. It hovers around 24,000 units daily and if it sees an unexplained spike, the KCC launches an investigation. Just last week, it recorded 28,267 subscriptions on one day alone.

The KCC has temporarily halted the monitoring of new subscriptions and thus the retailers have gone crazy with the subsidies. It has now threatened to launch an investigation into the actions of those involved if the illegal subsidies continue to be offered.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

[email protected]

First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

Via Phone Galaxy S8 Plus Samsung Galaxy S8

Galaxy S8 price in South Korea hits extreme low due to illegal subsidies

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

[email protected]

First Samsung device: SGH-E900

You might also like

Galaxy S24 sales surpass 1 million mark in South Korea, beating Galaxy S8

5-year-old Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ get new software update

T-Mobile will buy these Galaxy phones for you just for switching networks

Samsung surprises Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ users with new software update